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At his final meeting with the Ohio State University board of trustees, E. Gordon Gee sat quietly as his bosses took turns praising his work, wit and character.

When it came time to respond yesterday, he didn’t miss a beat.

“Now I know how a funeral feels,” the retiring OSU president said.

But the sense of humor that at times has gotten him in trouble faded quickly as the 69-year-old recalled both his triumphs and tragedies, including the deaths of his first wife, in 1991, and his son-in-law, in 2008.

“There have been profound personal losses,” he said, but his life at OSU offered stability. “There has never been a day that I have woken up with a heavy heart.”

He will step down as president on July 1 but has announced he will stay on campus in some role, helping to raise money and perhaps teach law. He added yesterday that his role will include research and writing about education, after he “re-energizes.”

Goodbyes from each of the 13 board members present were all complimentary. “You’re the best president I’ve ever seen, and you’ve taken the university to new heights,” said Robert H. Schottenstein, chairman of the board.

Board member Algenon L. Marbley called Gee a peerless and fearless leader. “And, of course, we will miss your larger-than-life persona. We love you,” he said.

After a standing ovation, the board helped cap Gee’s career as Ohio State president by approving a tuition freeze he proposed in February, one of his final moves.

Board members agreed that tuition for in-state, undergraduate students should remain at $10,037 next school year. State lawmakers allowed tuition increases of up to 2 percent, but Gee had said students and families deserve a break.

Fees for out-of-state undergraduate students will increase 2 percent, to $15,720, on top of tuition. Graduate-student tuition will rise 1.8 percent, to $12,425, and the extra fee for out-of-state graduate students will go up 2 percent, to $17,664. Room and board costs are to increase about 3.7 percent to cover inflation.

OSU officials expect the university to have the second-lowest cost among the six Ohio public universities with selective admission, behind Kent State University. Still, Ohio remains one of the most-expensive states for in-state residents to go to college, according to a report by the Project on Student Debt.

Since Gee returned for a second term at OSU in 2007, the university has frozen tuition during four academic years. A proposed state budget would give universities an extra 1.9 percent in support, but Gee said the university also has been able to freeze costs by generating money elsewhere, such as leasing its parking operation.

Along with the tuition freeze, board members also approved a plan to add 2,500 seats to Ohio Stadium and to add permanent lighting for night games.

Board members shuffled the agenda yesterday to make room for goodbyes for Gee. He announced his retirement on Tuesday, a week after news broke of comments he made at a Dec. 5 meeting to the OSU Athletic Council.

He has since apologized for jokes targeting “those damn Catholics,” Notre Dame and the academic performance at other schools, but he said he’s retiring to spend time with his family and his “significant other,” a singer-songwriter and yoga instructor in California.

The board wrote in March that Gee’s job could be on the line if he made another verbal slip-up –– the December jokes were the latest in a string of gaffes –– but board members didn’t bring any of that up yesterday. After praising Gee for 30 minutes, they gave him a scarlet-and-gray stroller for his two granddaughters.

They closed by voting Provost Joseph A. Alutto into his second term as interim president until the university finds a new leader. Alutto told board members he will continue the work they started with Gee and help find a “world-class” chief.